The invention concerns pictures with picture backs that are applied to a picture frame. Many of these picture backs have a movable flap, called the easel, that swings away from the plane of the picture and allows the picture to be supported in a tilled position while on a surface.
These picture backs often have a means for attaching the picture to a wall with a nail or a hooks. The picture backs are customarily made of chipboard and are either painted black or covered with a black felt.
Pictures with easel picture backs perform well when being supported on a surface; however, they are a source of frustration when hanging them onto a wall. Even pictures without the easels rarely hang in a desired position without tilting.
Picture backs with an easel flap are almost impossible to have the picture parallel to the wall. The picture usually tips to one side unless the easel and the easel holding bracket are removed from the picture back. In addition to this, the picture rarely stays level on the wall. This is because of the off center load that the easel imparts on the picture. No consideration has been given to the locating of a hanging point that will hold the picture level on the wall. The wall hanging devices provided with these backs are usually placed in the middle of the picture back instead of at their center of gravity. Some picture backs attempt to counter this problem with a sawtooth hanger. Even this method rarely solves the problem.
The current invention is an outgrowth of trying to hang pictures with these picture backs on the wall. The first thing that is done with easel back pictures is the removal of the easel flap and the hardware attaching it to the back. The next task is to attach a cord to the picture back and use that to hang the picture. This led to the inventing of a back that uses a double loop cord for hanging on a wall and has a removable easel.
This invention has a double loop cord that is free to slide between the two ends of the cord. This allows the two loops to become adjusted to the exact position where the picture is level. Having the two loops also holds the picture so that it is stable and doesn""t change position due to vibrations or incidental contact.
The removable easel simply slips into a holder that in turn slips into a middle angled slot in the picture back. When in the middle slot the easel is used to hold the picture in a tilted fashion on a surface. When the easel is removed from the holder it is used to provide a template for locating the screws that go into the wall and support the picture. The screws go through two holes in the easel and hold the easel so that it stays with the picture in the event that the picture is taken off the wall and moved to a surface. The picture back also has two additional slots for holding the easel holder on the bottom of the picture when the picture is hung on the wall. The combination of the two screws on the top and the easel holder on the bottom make the picture stable on the wall by providing a three point system. It also keeps all of the components together when the picture is on the wall.
This invention combines an adjustable cord with a removable easel on the traditional easel back picture frame. It is composed of a traditional picture back that has been altered to use a cord for hanging the picture onto a wall and a removable easel flap and easel holder. The use of a cord with double loops allows the picture to be leveled and held stable when hung on a wall. The removable easel is further used to provide additional help for holding the picture in a desired position on a wall.
The picture back is made in the traditional manner; however; it has holes or fixtures to hold a cord such that it can make two loops along the left side or along the top of the back. The picture back also has three slots for the easel holder to slip into. This allows the easel flap and the easel holder to be removed when the picture is going to be hung on a wall instead of sitting on a surface. The easel flap and easel holder are used for supporting the picture when it is in a tilted position on a surface. The removal of this easel flap and the holder make it easier to hang the picture onto a wall. The easel flap has two beveled edges for supporting the picture in either the narrow or wide directions when the picture is on a surface. The easel flap fits into one end of the easel holder and has two holes equidistant from a notch along a top edge of the easel. This notch and the holes are used to provide aligning holes for the screws that hold the picture onto a wall. The other end of the easel holder fits into the center slot of the picture back when it is supporting the picture on a surface.
When the picture is on a wall the easel holder is taken out of the center slot and put into a storage slot that is on the bottom of the picture. Two storage slots are provided in the picture back on the sides opposite the cord loops. The slot used depends upon the direction the picture is hung. The easel flap is removed from the holder and it is used as a locating template. The top notch is positioned under the desired center location of the picture on the wall. The two holes on either side of this notch are at the correct location for the support screws. The screws are placed into the holes and screwed into the wall so that their heads protrude slightly from the easel flap. These screws are now positioned to match the cord loops on the picture back.
When the picture is hung on the two screws the cord loops can be adjusted to make the picture perfectly level. Because they are connected together the loops work together in leveling the picture. That is, as one loop is made shorter the other loop becomes correspondingly longer.
When the picture is hung on a wall the easel flap is on the wall and the easel flap holder is in the bottom storage slot. The combination of these items holds the picture level and parallel to the wall. Additionally, all of the components are being used and available for switching from being on a wall to being on a surface.